This weekend features two stacked bills from either side of the Atlantic. The bigger of the two comes from Texas, as the Krusher, Sergey Kovalev, looks to inflict revenge on the WBO light-heavyweight champion who ripped his belt from him in August last year, Eleider Alvarez.
The Colombian stopped Kovalev in the seventh round in one of the shocks of the boxing year; it’ll soon be telling whether Kovalev has turned old overnight, or the Russian slugger simply had a bad night at the office.
The other big card comes from East London, as Ted Cheeseman challenges Sergio Garcia for the EBU super welterweight title in front of a predicted 6,000 strong crowd. The Big Cheese is being dubbed as one of the next big stars coming from the Matchroom stable, and is a 4/11 favourite to get the job done against the Spaniard on Saturday night.
Cheeseman and Alvarez to win @ 2.3/1 [BetVictor]
It’s a double that returns a good price. After dissecting the first Kovalev vs. Alvarez fight last August it’s hard to see what more the Krusher can do. The 35-year-old challenger has had a tough two years suffering back-to-back defeats against Andre Ward, two knock-over jobs against Shabranskyy and Mikhalkin and then the loss of his WBO 175-pound title.
Alvarez won the first fight in devastating fashion. It was a big KO which many thought would spell the end of the Krusher’s career, however, he has taken the rematch looking to gain revenge for his third professional loss. Alvarez was faster, sharper, smarter and more accurate last August, and with a desire to get back into training camp surely wilting for the Russian, this time around it may be more emphatic.
Kovalev hasn’t got any quit in him, but he may not be able to accept that he is finished at the highest level. Alvarez is unbeaten in the pro ranks with notable wins over the faded Chilemba, Bute and Pascal; the timing of his rise in the light-heavy division has been faultless.
Now for Cheeseman. The Bermondsey-boy will be fighting a mile away from where he grew up, with a huge support expected inside the O2 Arena. Garcia is unbeaten in his 28 professional contests, but is yet to fight out of his native Spain where he has recorded 13 KOs. Garcia picked up the vacant EBU crown last September, but is looking to cash out in a trip to London to face an unbeaten fighter for just the third time in his career.
It’s unlikely that Garcia has the power to stop the exciting Cheeseman, and with the Spaniard unlikely to get a decision on the cards in London – especially against a high-volume fighter like Cheeseman – it’s hard to see Garcia coming away with the W.
